Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 3

Introduction

The periodicity and recurrence of solar eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 13 centuries and contains 70 or more eclipses. Every saros series begins with a number of partial eclipses near one of Earth's polar regions. The series will then produce several dozen central[2] eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 3

Solar eclipses of Saros 3 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -2814 Apr 24. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1534 Jun 01. The total duration of Saros series 3 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -2814 Apr 24   23:14:58 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -1534 Jun 01   00:38:21 TD

                      Duration of Saros   3  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 3 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 3
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 15 20.8%
AnnularA 50 69.4%
TotalT 5 6.9%
Hybrid[3]H 2 2.8%

Umbral eclipses (annular, total and hybrid) can be further classified as either: 1) Central (two limits), 2) Central (one limit) or 3) Non-Central (one limit). The statistical distribution of these classes in Saros series 3 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 3
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 57100.0%
Central (two limits) 56 98.2%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 1.8%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 3: 8P 5T 2H 50A 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 3 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 3
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1967 Sep 1409m27s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -2544 Oct 0300m08s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -2670 Jul 2001m42s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -2598 Sep 0100m56s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -2580 Sep 1200m36s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -2562 Sep 2300m14s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -2688 Jul 09 - 0.98349
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1534 Jun 01 - 0.02788

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 3

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 3. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.

Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.


For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 3.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 3

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

----- -37 -2814 Apr 24  23:14:58  68393 -59538   Pb   1.4794  0.0951  60.7N  19.5E   0             
----- -36 -2796 May 05  06:35:13  67862 -59315   P    1.4091  0.2316  60.9N 101.6W   0             
----- -35 -2778 May 16  13:54:01  67333 -59092   P    1.3379  0.3696  61.2N 137.6E   0             
----- -34 -2760 May 26  21:13:27  66805 -58869   P    1.2679  0.5049  61.7N  16.5E   0             
----- -33 -2742 Jun 07  04:34:31  66280 -58646   P    1.1994  0.6363  62.3N 105.0W   0             
----- -32 -2724 Jun 17  11:57:44  65757 -58423   P    1.1333  0.7622  63.0N 132.7E   0             
----- -31 -2706 Jun 28  19:25:41  65236 -58200   P    1.0717  0.8780  63.8N   9.0E   0             
----- -30 -2688 Jul 09  02:58:29  64717 -57977   P    1.0150  0.9835  64.8N 116.2W   0             
----- -29 -2670 Jul 20  10:37:48  64200 -57754   T    0.9641  1.0329  80.1N 129.6E  15  439  01m42s
----- -28 -2652 Jul 30  18:23:30  63685 -57531   T    0.9191  1.0293  89.2N  65.6W  23  258  01m38s

----- -27 -2634 Aug 11  02:17:25  63172 -57308   T    0.8815  1.0246  82.3N  85.1E  28  180  01m28s
----- -26 -2616 Aug 21  10:18:30  62662 -57085   T    0.8508  1.0194  75.4N  40.5W  31  127  01m13s
----- -25 -2598 Sep 01  18:27:03  62153 -56862   T    0.8270  1.0140  69.1N 166.9W  34   86  00m56s
----- -24 -2580 Sep 12  02:42:55  61646 -56639   H    0.8099  1.0085  63.3N  65.0E  36   50  00m36s
----- -23 -2562 Sep 23  11:06:06  61142 -56416   H    0.7995  1.0033  57.9N  65.1W  37   19  00m14s
----- -22 -2544 Oct 03  19:34:44  60640 -56193   A    0.7945  0.9983  53.1N 163.3E  37   10  00m08s
----- -21 -2526 Oct 15  04:07:40  60139 -55970   A    0.7938  0.9937  48.7N  30.4E  37   36  00m31s
----- -20 -2508 Oct 25  12:43:30  59641 -55747   A    0.7965  0.9897  44.9N 103.3W  37   60  00m53s
----- -19 -2490 Nov 05  21:21:21  59145 -55524   A    0.8015  0.9861  41.6N 122.4E  36   82  01m15s
----- -18 -2472 Nov 16  05:57:32  58651 -55301   A    0.8060  0.9832  38.7N  11.7W  36  100  01m34s

----- -17 -2454 Nov 27  14:32:27  58159 -55078   A    0.8102  0.9808  36.3N 145.6W  36  116  01m52s
----- -16 -2436 Dec 07  23:02:15  57669 -54855   A    0.8108  0.9792  33.9N  81.6E  36  126  02m06s
----- -15 -2418 Dec 19  07:27:38  57181 -54632   A    0.8088  0.9780  31.9N  50.2W  36  133  02m17s
----- -14 -2400 Dec 29  15:43:49  56695 -54409   A    0.7998  0.9775  29.8N 179.5W  37  134  02m24s
----- -13 -2381 Jan 09  23:53:26  56211 -54186   A    0.7862  0.9774  27.8N  53.0E  38  131  02m27s
----- -12 -2363 Jan 20  07:52:07  55729 -53963   A    0.7641  0.9776  25.8N  71.4W  40  123  02m26s
----- -11 -2345 Jan 31  15:41:33  55250 -53740   A    0.7353  0.9781  23.9N 167.0E  42  114  02m23s
----- -10 -2327 Feb 10  23:18:58  54772 -53517   A    0.6973  0.9787  22.2N  49.0E  46  104  02m17s
----- -09 -2309 Feb 22  06:47:23  54297 -53294   A    0.6526  0.9792  20.9N  66.2W  49   96  02m12s
----- -08 -2291 Mar 04  14:04:27  53823 -53071   A    0.5992  0.9796  19.8N 178.0W  53   89  02m07s

----- -07 -2273 Mar 15  21:11:34  53352 -52848   A    0.5384  0.9798  19.2N  73.2E  57   84  02m03s
----- -06 -2255 Mar 26  04:09:07  52883 -52625   A    0.4706  0.9796  18.9N  32.8W  62   81  02m03s
----- -05 -2237 Apr 06  10:58:45  52416 -52402   A    0.3972  0.9790  18.8N 136.3W  66   80  02m05s
----- -04 -2219 Apr 16  17:41:09  51950 -52179   A    0.3187  0.9780  18.9N 122.4E  71   82  02m12s
----- -03 -2201 Apr 28  00:17:33  51487 -51956   A    0.2359  0.9763  18.9N  22.8E  76   87  02m24s
----- -02 -2183 May 08  06:50:02  51026 -51733   A    0.1509  0.9742  18.6N  75.5W  81   93  02m41s
----- -01 -2165 May 19  13:20:15  50568 -51510   Am   0.0650  0.9714  17.9N 173.3W  86  103  03m05s
-----  00 -2147 May 29  19:48:35  50111 -51287   A   -0.0216  0.9682  16.6N  89.4E  89  114  03m35s
-----  01 -2129 Jun 10  02:18:25  49656 -51064   A   -0.1062  0.9645  14.6N   8.5W  84  129  04m13s
-----  02 -2111 Jun 20  08:49:48  49203 -50841   A   -0.1886  0.9604  11.8N 107.2W  79  146  04m58s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 3

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

-----  03 -2093 Jul 01  15:26:26  48753 -50618   A   -0.2660  0.9559   8.4N 152.2E  75  167  05m48s
-----  04 -2075 Jul 11  22:06:33  48304 -50395   A   -0.3398  0.9511   4.2N  50.2E  70  190  06m41s
-----  05 -2057 Jul 23  04:55:04  47858 -50172   A   -0.4058  0.9462   0.4S  54.5W  66  217  07m31s
-----  06 -2039 Aug 02  11:49:55  47413 -49949   A   -0.4658  0.9412   5.5S 161.4W  62  246  08m14s
-----  07 -2021 Aug 13  18:54:33  46971 -49726   A   -0.5172  0.9364  10.9S  88.8E  59  276  08m46s
-----  08 -2003 Aug 24  02:06:36  46531 -49503   A   -0.5620  0.9316  16.4S  23.3W  56  308  09m09s
00035  09 -1985 Sep 04  09:29:03  46093 -49280   A   -0.5977  0.9272  21.9S 138.3W  53  338  09m22s
00078  10 -1967 Sep 14  16:59:19  45656 -49057   A   -0.6263  0.9232  27.4S 104.6E  51  368  09m27s
00121  11 -1949 Sep 26  00:37:49  45222 -48834   A   -0.6477  0.9197  32.8S  14.4W  49  394  09m25s
00164  12 -1931 Oct 06  08:23:27  44790 -48611   A   -0.6630  0.9167  38.0S 135.1W  48  418  09m19s

00207  13 -1913 Oct 17  16:15:51  44361 -48388   A   -0.6726  0.9145  43.1S 103.1E  47  436  09m09s
00251  14 -1895 Oct 28  00:12:42  43933 -48165   A   -0.6781  0.9130  48.0S  19.1W  47  449  08m57s
00296  15 -1877 Nov 08  08:12:04  43507 -47942   A   -0.6816  0.9122  52.8S 141.0W  47  457  08m43s
00343  16 -1859 Nov 18  16:12:53  43083 -47719   A   -0.6838  0.9121  57.3S  98.3E  47  460  08m27s
00389  17 -1841 Nov 30  00:13:30  42662 -47496   A   -0.6864  0.9127  61.4S  20.6W  46  459  08m08s
00435  18 -1823 Dec 10  08:10:48  42242 -47273   A   -0.6918  0.9140  65.0S 136.2W  46  456  07m48s
00481  19 -1805 Dec 21  16:04:21  41825 -47050   A   -0.7005  0.9159  67.8S 111.9E  45  451  07m26s
00528  20 -1787 Dec 31  23:51:46  41409 -46827   A   -0.7145  0.9183  69.5S   4.2E  44  446  07m03s
00573  21 -1768 Jan 12  07:33:02  40996 -46604   A   -0.7337  0.9212  69.8S 100.6W  43  441  06m38s
00618  22 -1750 Jan 22  15:05:02  40585 -46381   A   -0.7609  0.9243  69.1S 156.6E  40  440  06m12s

00663  23 -1732 Feb 02  22:29:32  40176 -46158   A   -0.7944  0.9278  67.6S  54.0E  37  446  05m46s
00710  24 -1714 Feb 13  05:44:32  39768 -45935   A   -0.8361  0.9311  65.8S  47.3W  33  468  05m21s
00754  25 -1696 Feb 24  12:50:43  39363 -45712   A   -0.8850  0.9344  64.1S 146.6W  27  522  04m57s
00798  26 -1678 Mar 06  19:47:59  38961 -45489   A   -0.9415  0.9369  63.1S 119.2E  19  696  04m34s
00839  27 -1660 Mar 17  02:38:17  38560 -45266   A-  -1.0038  0.9574  60.7S  47.7E   0             
00880  28 -1642 Mar 28  09:22:04  38161 -45043   P   -1.0719  0.8423  60.5S  63.6W   0             
00921  29 -1624 Apr 07  15:58:59  37764 -44820   P   -1.1456  0.7162  60.5S 173.1W   0             
00962  30 -1606 Apr 18  22:32:52  37369 -44597   P   -1.2220  0.5843  60.7S  78.0E   0             
01003  31 -1588 Apr 29  05:03:27  36977 -44374   P   -1.3012  0.4465  61.0S  30.0W   0             
01044  32 -1570 May 10  11:34:14  36586 -44151   P   -1.3807  0.3072  61.4S 138.2W   0             

01085  33 -1552 May 20  18:04:09  36198 -43928   P   -1.4612  0.1652  62.0S 113.6E   0             
01125  34 -1534 Jun 01  00:38:21  35811 -43705   Pe  -1.5387  0.0279  62.7S   4.3E   0             


Calendar

The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..


Predictions

The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).

The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT and is determined as follows:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.


Footnotes

[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.

[2]Central solar eclipses are eclipses in which the central axis of the Moon's shadow strikes the Earth's surface. All partial (penumbral) eclipses are non-central eclipses since the shadow axis misses Earth. However, umbral eclipses (total, annular and hybrid) may be either central (usually) or non-central (rarely).

[3]Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. For more information, see Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses .

[4]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal to the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration. However, for annular eclipses, the instant of greatest duration may occur at either the time of greatest eclipse or near the sunrise and sunset points of the eclipse path.


Acknowledgments

The information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.

Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26